Charleston police turn to Twitter, Facebook for help in suspect search

Accounts for the police department and the city government posted photos of the young-looking man suspected of shooting nine people at Emmanuel AME Church. UPDATED.

By Matt WilsonJune 18, 2015

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A gunman shot and killed nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night.

Officials were quick to condemn the act as a hate crime. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley told reporters, “The only reason someone would walk into a church and shoot people that were praying is hate.”

As of Thursday morning, police were still looking for the suspect in the case, a young, white man caught on video outside Emmanuel AME Church. To help with the search, the Charleston Police Department’s Twitter and Facebook accounts posted screenshots:

On June 17, 2015 at approximately 8:00PM, the pictured white male suspect entered the Emanuel AME church located at 110…